The Other Ambon: Moluccas' Capital Gem
© Liz Price
The travel books from older days talk about the heady scent of spices filling the air of the fabled Spice Islands. As my plane landed in the tiny airport of Ambon, I was disappointed to smell nothing, not even aviation fuel.
Ambon is the capital of Maluku province. Together with North Maluku province, they are better known to Europeans as The Moluccas. The islands had been of interest to spice traders from as early as the 1st century, and later became known as The Spice Islands, due to the cloves, nutmeg, mace and cinnamon which grow there. It was these East Indies that Columbus was looking for when he accidentally found America in 1492. However, Ambon is not as famous for spices as some of the other islands, such as Banda and Saparua, where more of these spices are grown.
Pulau Ambon resembles two horseshoes back to back. Ambon City lies on the south side of the beautiful Ambon bay. The airport is located in the north, across the bay, and although a ferry connects the two, it is quicker to drive the 36 km. We went through a series of small villages, and the first thing that struck me was the number of churches. They were of many different designs and some villages had up to 4 churches of different denominations. Many were still under construction. Although Indonesia has the world's largest Moslem population, Maluku is home to a large number of Christians and it was common to see a mosque and church side by side.
Since the end of the heyday of the spice trade, The Moluccas became largely forgotten. Then, in recent decades, tourists discovered the great beauty of these islands, straddling the equator, and which have some of the world's most stunning dive sites. Sadly, the peace and religious harmony of these islands was shattered in 1999, when a minor dispute between a Christian and Moslem led to full scale riots, which lasted until about 2004. During that time many buildings were bombed and burnt, and whole villages were wiped out. The riots spread throughout many islands of Maluku.
Now peace is restored and the people are busy rebuilding and getting on with their lives. There is a building frenzy going on as Moslems and Christians help each other rebuild homes, as well as churches and mosques. Maluku is now safe again and tourists are slowly returning. Ambon and the surrounding islands are totally unspoilt by tourism, and remain a hidden, unknown gem nestled between Sulawesi and Papua.
Diving
Wherever I went in Maluku, I was constantly amazed by how clear the water was; even in the main harbours, the water was clear and full of fish. I could see why the place is so popular amongst divers. There is one dive centre, Maluku Divers, on the south coast of Ambon at Namalatu. The coral reefs off the beaches of Ambon are good diving and snorkeling sites, and there are approximately 33 selected dive spots.
Pintu Kota Recreational Park is located near Namalatu. Pintu Kota is a natural arch in the sea cliffs with a small cave to the side of the arch. The area at the top of the cliff, the Pantai Pintu viewpoint, provides a great view over the bay and coastline. From here, a rough trail leads vertically down the cliff to the base of the arch. The beach is formed from stones and corals and is fringed by sea pandans.
Further along the coast is Tanjung. The ground here is made up of some unusual rock formation, appearing like rings of rosette shaped stones enclosed by a layer of black stones which appeared burnt. I presume it is a form of basalt. Villagers in the nearby kampung make bricks; a cottage industry, where the women make the bricks and the men bake them in a kiln. Fishing is the other means of income and one can watch the small prahus come in during the afternoons with their catch of fish, such as the skipjack tuna.
Amahusu is the finishing point for the Darwin to Ambon yacht race. It is located on the beautiful Ambon bay, just a few kilometres west of Ambon City. Ambon is Darwin's twin sister.
Fishing
Fishing is possible in Ambon bay and also around the island.
Soya Atas
Soya Atas is a village located high on Gunung Sirimau, immediately behind Ambon City. The church here was rebuilt in 2003, after the riots. From the village one can walk up the hill through the dusung (I thought it was dusun, but apparently not). It's a beautiful walk past lots of fruit trees and flowering shrubs. The trees include gandaria, mangosteen, cloves, durian, langsat and nangka. There is also kutikata, lychee and salak. The hibiscus are of several colours and some are large in size. Kampong Soya is known for its delicious durian which fruit from March to April. We saw some traps for cuscus in the trees. Cuscus (phalanger) is a marsupial, like a possum, and locals eat them.
Cemetery
In the suburb of Tantui is the Commonwealth War cemetery, where the Commonwealth servicemen, who were killed in Sulawesi and Ambon, are honoured. The place is immaculately maintained, still paid for by the Commonwealth. Anzac Day (April) was celebrated here annually until the riots. There are some magnificent huge trees in the park.
Hot Springs
Waii Eels
On the northeast coast of Pulau Ambon, just beyond the port of Tulehu, is the small kampung of Waii. This is famous for its eels. These live in a natural river, but the area has been concreted to form a rectangular pond and a 'cave' where the eels shelter. I was expecting small eels and was quite stunned when these huge giants appeared from out of the cave. If paid, a local man will call the eels by slapping the water and coaxing them with a raw egg. I was invited to get into the water with him and was then told to hold the eels by putting my hands around them. I was startled when I felt how slippery the eels were. They must have been covered in algae. They were so big, and at first I was unnerved to have 5'- 6' eels swimming around my legs. I managed to hold and lift them slightly. One gave my leg a slight nibble, probably looking for food. There seemed to be little natural food in the water for the eels, and I was told that they feed on eggs. But of course one egg won't keep all those eels alive. Apparently there's an even bigger eel that remained hidden. There were also several fish in the pond, and a dam hindered the eels and fish from escaping. It was incongruous to see the local women use the downstream area below the pond for washing their clothes.
Pulau Pombo
Pulau Pombo or Dove Island is a tiny deserted island off the northeast coast of Ambon. It is used as a resting place by local fishermen. The water at the coral reef around the island is very shallow, which is a problem for boats. The corals here, however, are not as nice as those off Ambon Island. And, unfortunately, the island acts as a natural trap for rubbish from the bay, and the beaches are littered with plastic containers and other garbage.
Ambon is certainly a beautiful place, and together with neighbouring islands such as Seram, Saparua and Banda, it is a great place for ecotourists and those wanting somewhere off the beaten tourist path. It is totally unspoilt by tourism. Ambon and the nearby Banda Islands offer some stunning dive sites while the Manusela National Park in Seram is good for trekking.
No comments:
Post a Comment